Something that we've been bouncing between the admins for a while, is a means to thank and celebrate the work and creativity of science teams, engineering teams or outreachers who try to share their exploratory spirit. To that end, we are about to award the first 6 UMSF awards, to mark the 6 years of UMSF. From this year onwards, we intend to issue two awards per year, but after 6 years we've got some catching up to do so we've awarded 6 different teams or individuals in this inaugural round.
The actual awards are already in the mail out to their various recipients either directly (on pain of death if they reveal their award before we do!) , or with the help of agents of subterfuge who are holding them until the day of the actual award to keep it a surprise (you know who you are, and thankyou!)
A special thanks, as ever, to Astro0 for his typically awesome work with Photoshop to produce not only the graphics for the awards, but also for the certificates that accompany them.
The first six will be announced from March 1st to March 6th! Please don't try and play a guessing game in the mean time, you may end up causing accidental offence or disappointment.
We'll be taking nominations for the 2010 awards from UMSF members, but NOT YET... because you don't know who's won a 2009 award yet!
The first six awards will be announced at www.umsfawards.com or you can be exceptionally 21st century and keep track via @umsfawards
I can't wait to receive mine !
I'm patient. I can wait for the lifetime achievement award.
Will the awards also be posted here?
Wow man they look http://www.umsfawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/6_2009_awards.jpg...
Wow, they're shaped like Steins! That's a nice touch!
Yeah it's nerdy but funnily enough that's what I thought when I saw them...
So all the winner announcements will be staggered over 6 days?
Yup - Monday thru to Saturday. I'm hoping that recipients will have hands-on their awards before they're announced, but that might not be the case for everyone. Fortunately the first one is a hand delivery in a few days time. I'll post here when te announcements occur, but the details will be on the awards site.
The first award has been announced. There was only one choice :
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=34
Steve Squyres, Jim Bell & the MER Science team, for establishing the new standard for rapid release of raw imagery from spacecraft exploring the solar system with MER and Pancam.
Congratulations to Steve Squyres, Jim Bell and MER Science Team!
From a "viewer" who has benefitted greatly from this award winning idea!
Cheers!
I'll add my congrats, too! I didn't doubt they'd get one or the other anyway...
So well-deserved that it must count as a no-brainer. Congratulations to the MER team!
bah! what have those guys done to deserve this award, this was all fixed I tell you...
seriously...would we be around here if it weren't for them? I doubt it.
Great initiative Doug and crew!
Cool idea! I'm sure that the recipients will be deeply honored; this is recognition by the public, not from fellow professionals, and that's a qualitative difference.
Squyres' statements over the years have taken on the gravitas of "One small step..."
Besides soaking up the glory of a successful launch or landing, SS has the additional challenge of knowing that each unmanned mission will one day come to an end. His descriptions have helped a lot of enthusiasts, myself included, cope with that part of a mission.
After yesterdays first Spirit award - today is the first Opportunity award :
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=43
It goes to John Spencer and the New Horizons Jupiter Flyby Planning Team for seeking and using public suggestions for Kodak-Moment imaging opportunities during the New Horizons flyby of Jupiter.
Congrats John! I'm sure all the other space exploration missions will be *so* jealous now.
Congratulations to you too, Hendric, for your great targeting suggestions that made our experiment a success! You deserve a share of the award.
John
Please chip off a piece of the ...Just kidding! Just being able to part of the team is reward enough. I still stare in admiration at my "NH @ Jupiter anniversary" poster. I expect to be invited to the Pluto flyby party!
The third award of the six, and the second Opportunity Award....
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=83
Examples of exceptional public engagement are rare in Europe. But one small project has shone brighter than anything else, the reactivation of the Visual Monitoring Camera onboard Mars Express, and the interaction between the MEX team and the public that has followed. For that reason, Thomas Ormston and the Mars Express VMC planning team have been awarded the second UMSF Opportunity Award!
The Third Opportunity Award goes to Alice Wessen and the Cassini Outreach Team, for taking the public to Saturn with the release of raw images, and eight inspiring rounds of the Cassini ‘Scientist for a day’ program.
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=93
Congrats Alice and the Cassini Outreach team.
The New Horizons award got a mention and link on the front page:
http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/
I guess we can expect new visitors now....
Congrats to ALL the present awards, they are well well deserved, we can't be more agreed with that
Two more to go yet ( and I can hear the cogs of imagination and forecasting occurring in each and every mind reading this thread )
The announcements should automatically appear on the site at 1200UT (they are pre-scheduled blog entires) - and then I tweet a few minutes later.
The Second Spirit Award goes to Veronica McGregor, the voice of @MarsPhoenix :
An agency as large and bureaucratic as NASA will always be resistant to things that are new, unknown or perhaps perceived as ‘trendy’. It is for pushing through those misconceptions and using these new means of communication so effectively, that Veronica McGregor wins the 2nd UMSF Spirit Award, for giving a little spacecraft a big voice and kick starting the new media revolution at JPL and NASA.
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=104
Just one more to go tomorrow!
W00t, Veronica!!!
Wow! I was so happy to read that Alice and the Cassini team were recognized with their award and today I'm blown away to see you've thought of me, too.
I think all the members of UMSF deserve a round of applause for your advocacy and support. You inspire us!
Thank you!
http://www.umsfawards.com/?p=111
For sharing the frustration, exhilaration, challenges and rewards of flight operations via marsandme.blogspot.com , Scott Maxwell wins the 3rd UMSF Spirit Award, the final award of the 2009 round!
I wanted to wait for all the winners to be announced before adding my congratulations, especially to those whose work may be less high-profile, but which is no less welcome for that!
My congratulations to all winners!
I also offer my congratulations. The awards were well deserved.
I'm both amazed by how good our Admins have been in their selection and by what the selected people have delivered.
To the one that post on UNMSF, Veronica, John and Scott (welcome!) I want to express my gratitude hoping the other winners also read us and understand our important they are for us too.
It's more than well deserved, Scott; dig on it, man, and congratulations!!!!
Also, apologies & belated congratulations to John Spencer! This thread's been moving rapidly indeed...
"it has a good while to go yet, but it doesn't go forever"
It doesn't?!?! Take the award back!!!!
Seriously, congratulations Scott (and welcome to UMSF! Finally!!!!), your award - like everyone's - is richly deserved. With the possible exception of SS I'm not aware of anyone who's done more to spread the word about the magnificence of MER, and support our gals.
Congratulations to all the awrd recipients, they've all, through their efforts, helped make people Out There aware of just how exciting, valuable and rewarding science can be. No small thing in this celebrity-worshipping, bling-obsessed age.
To all the Award recipients,
Congratulations for all your contributions - you people make a difference.
To the UMSF admins
Doug, et. al., ... you guys rock. Thanks for these high quality forums, and now, the UMSF Awards.
Great initiative! And congrats to all the winners. Really well-deserved!
Scott, it is never too late to start taking notes again! - I love the personal insight they have given into driving the MER's.
Congrats to all winners.
Will there be and awards "ceremony" this year? Dry-clean the Tux?
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